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UPDATE: KRXQ Confronted By Advertisers, Media and Community

On May 28, the "Rob, Arnie and Dawn in the Morning" show aired a highly offensive segment that caused a lot of shock and disgust. GLAAD sprung into action and has been working full force on this incident. I thought a recap would be in order for those interested in the story's evolution.

Radio hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States spent more than 30 minutes making crude and dehumanizing comments promoting child abuse against transgender children. It began when they discussed a story about an Omaha family supporting their transgender child and her transition.

Put off like we were? You can directly voice your concerns to the radio hosts by following this link.

The radio station finally called us back after we issued our first Call to Action. According to the station, hundreds of letters poured in from all throughout the country and even around the world. The station promised Rob and Arnie would respond to their offensive segment.

Dawn Rossi

GLAAD also spoke with with radio host Dawn Rossi who defended transgender people on the highly problematic segment.

On their follow-up show (scroll down on their site), Rob and Arnie failed to apologize for their remarks. GLAAD re-issued our Call to Action (which currently remains active, with constituents still writing in).

So did lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocates. Constituents frustrated over the segment and the hosts' failure to apologize took it upon themselves to make their voices heard. Social networking tools like Facebook were - and still are - being used to contact KRXQ advertisers.

Chipotle announced it had pulled its advertising contract, and Snapple and Sonic followed suit. You can read more about that here.

But today, on June 5, we fielded a massive amount of communication between advertisers and media.

First, Bank of America contacted us to announce they were withdrawing all advertising and provided us with their statement explaning their reasons why. Verizon and the Carl's Jr. restaurant chain were soon to follow - you can find their statements here.

This afternoon, we received phone calls and emails from Wells Fargo and Nissan. Both companies had statements they wanted GLAAD to distribute.

At 7:29pm EST, we received yet another statement to distribute.

This time it came from AT&T.

AT&T wrote:

The matter was brought to our attention and we have pulled our advertising from the station.

As I write this post, nine companies have now sent GLAAD statements. And all of them have either announced a decision to completely withdraw or not renew advertising contracts with KXRQ because of their offensive radio segment.

Because of GLAAD urging people to contact the station and those who have taken action by contacting advertisers, media have also extensively covered this developing story. The Associated Press, The Advocate, The Sacramento Bee, FOX 40 and others have reported on advertisers withdrawing support from the radio station.

The pressure seems to have caused a stir at the radio station. Today at 5:28pm EST, we received an email from the General Manager promising a phone call this Monday with a possible resolution.

Until then, we continue urging people to voice their concerns with the radio station.

Stay tuned for more details. Please check back with us for updates on this developing story.

Have an update to share with GLAAD? Send us a tweet on our Twitter account @glaad.

About GLAAD

GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBT acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love.more about GLAAD >>